Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse is a role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 and the second title in the Xenosaga series. It was developed by Monolift Soft and published by Namco. Continuing where the story left off in Episode I, players resume the role of Shion Uzuki. The character designs deviate from the anime style that was featured in Episode I to a more realistic style. Some characters, such as KOS-MOS and Shion, receive complete costume changes. Jenseits von Gut und Böse, literally "Beyond Good and Evil", is taken from a philosophical work by Nietzsche of the same name. (Xenosaga Episode II Walkthrough here) Plot Episode II begins with a flashback of the Miltian Conflict, where chaos and Canaan are ordered to pilot E.S. Asher to (Old) Miltia and retrieve the U.R.T.V. units from the Realians rioting near Labyrinthos, the U-TIC Organization headquarters. Along the way, the two men encounter Galaxy Federation officer Jin Uzuki, who is investigating the root of the Conflict. Jin believes that the entire Conflict is a set-up to turn the U-TIC Organization into a scapegoat, which, in turn, will keep the larger organization hidden in the shadows. Jin has what that organization wants: the Y-Data, which holds the key to Joachim Mizrahi's research on the Zohar. The trio encounters U-TIC operative Margulis along the way, who demands that the Y-Data be returned. Jin defeats Margulis in a sword fight. Caanan is then entrusted with the Y-Data, which is the last thing that Caanan remembers from the Conflict. In the present day, Margulis talks with the Patriarch of Ormus, explaining that Albedo Piazzolla will unlock the safeguard on the Y-Data and lead them to Old Miltia. The two also discuss Ormus operative Heinlein's motives. On Second Miltia, Caanan leaves the investigation disappointed once again; he cannot activate the Y-Data stored within him. Meanwhile, Shion Uzuki and the rest of the party arrive at Second Miltia, where they part their separate ways. Jr., MOMO Mizrahi, Ziggy, and chaos are chased by U-TIC operatives wishing to capture MOMO once again. However, the attacks are thwarted. At Second Miltia's Vector Industries headquarters, Shion, Allen Ridgeley, and KOS-MOS are briefed of the increasing Gnosis threat. Soon after, Shion is reunited with her brother, Jin Uzuki, who is now running a bookstore. Eventually, both parties are reunited during MOMO's analysis of the Y-Data via the U.M.N. During the analysis, Albedo gains control and dives into MOMO's subconscious via the Encephalon. The party follows; Jr. experiences the history behind the U.R.T.V. units, which include him, Albedo, Gaignun Kukai, and Citrine, as well as his relationship with Sakura Mizrahi. However, the party is too late; Albedo manages to unlock the safeguard on the Y-Data and open up Old Miltia. Seizing the moment, both the Federation and Ormus ("Immigrant") fleets launch their invasion into Old Miltian space with a mutual goal of seizing the Original Zohar. The Immigrant/Ormus fleet gains the advantage and quickly descends to Old Miltia. Meanwhile, Shion and Allen return to the Dämmerung to report the recent events to Vector Industries. On Second Miltia, Representative Helmer decides to launch an attack on Old Miltia in conjunction with the Kukai Foundation, Vector Industries, and S.O.C.E.; this way, the Original Zohar is apprehended by a neutral party. However, after Shion encounters Febronia, she remembers that her goal was to venture to Old Miltia and "save Febronia's sisters". Shion and Allen escape from the Dammerung. Wilhelm watches the escape and states that Shion is an important figure that cannot be lost, and KOS-MOS will be the key to absolute knowledge. Therefore, he decides to activate KOS-MOS secretly to assist Shion and Allen at Old Miltia. However, as they progress into Old Miltian space, their advance is cut short by the Black Testament, which forces the group to retreat to the conveniently approaching Elsa. Reunited, the party launches another strike into Old Miltian space by flying between the two black holes of the Abyss, destroying an Ormus Stronghold along the way. After weaving through the space battle between the Federation and Ormus/Immigrant fleets, the Elsa lands aside Labyrinthos. Inside Labyrinthos, Jin Uzuki confirms his suspicions: Joachim Mizrahi was being used during the Miltian Conflict, the U-TIC Organization, Immigrant Fleet, and Hyams are all fronts for the Ormus society, and Mizrahi forced Old Miltia into the abyss to prevent the re-awakening of U-DO, a powerful wave existence fused with the Original Zohar. In other words, Mizrahi was a hero who was initially manipulated by Ormus, the true organization behind U-TIC and the Immigrant fleet. At the core of Labyrinthos, Margulis and Jin Uzuki face off once again. Afterward, Shion noticed that Febronia's sisters, Cecily and Cathe, are part of the safeguard to maintain the Zohar. However, the Ormus Patriarch appears, and explains the Ormus and the Zohar will guide humans for eternity. U-DO and the Zohar begin to glow, and KOS-MOS tries to stop it by destroying Cecily and Cathe. The gambit fails; the Patriarch summons another Mizrahi invention, Proto Omega, to fuse with the Zohar and create a weapon that could strike anywhere in space. The Patriarch explains that he will use Omega to destroy the Gnosis and command the galaxy under Ormus. The party is then forced to escape as Second Miltia is morphed into the Omega System, which is the result of the Zohar and Omega fusion. Meanwhile, Gaignun Kukai morphs into Dmitri Yuriev, the U.R.T.V. creator. Margulis and Hyams scientist, Sellers, betray the Patriarch in favor of Heinlein. The Patriarch is left in the Omega System to defend himself. Shion and her allies enter the Omega System and confront the Patriarch, who is also confronted by a dying Albedo. The Testaments defeat the Patriarch and revive Albedo so that he can morph Miltian space into a space-time anomaly. After Albedo does this, Jr. decides to confront his brother personally; he dives into the anomaly and defeats Albedo. Although the space-time anomaly is destroyed, the Original Zohar remains floating in space. Before the Durandal and the Kukai Foundation can rush to acquire it, a star system-sized Gnosis appears: Abel's Ark. Abel's Ark retrieves the Original Zohar and vanishes. Both chaos and Wilhelm observe with deep interest; the latter also deems the former "Yeshua". After these events, the party separates to try and lead normal lives, although Jin worries that the chain of events is not over (Ormus is still alive, and the Zohar was abruptly seized by a mysterious force). The game ends with Wilhelm crowning the fourth Testament. Wilhelm calls this man, "Weaver of the Eternal Circle of Zarathustra." Gameplay Music Episode II features a soundtrack with more contemporary sounds; compared to Episode I, Episode II features a large amount of synthesizer usage as well as vocal tracks. The development of Episode II's music was split between Yuki Kajiura (cutscenes) and Shinji Hosoe (in-game music). Kajiura's soundtrack features vocal pieces by Margaret Dorn and Yuriko Kaida. Censorship As with Xenosaga Episode I, the North American version of the game was censored in order to receive a Teen rating. In one scene, Albedo attempts to explain regeneration and, in the Japanese version, he pulls a pistol to his head and blows it off.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_bGirMrg4o& The Western release still featured the blood spatter but the gun was altered to be an orb of energy.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8CXeYjlhH8 Reception Though the game was received generally positively, scoring a 71% average, Episode II received criticism for many of its elements. Gaming Age complained that the game is shorter than Episode I, and the new voice actors for Shion, MOMO and KOS-MOS were considered a downgrade by IGN. Yasunori Mitsuda did not return to score the music of Episode II, despite getting critical acclaim for his musical work on Episode I, disappointing fans of his work. In addition, Game Informer called Episode II "a dropped ball of Devil May Cry 2 proportions," citing similar critical and fan disappointment expressed with the aforementioned game. Episode II was also criticized because of distinct changes with the battle system. Some players argued the changes increased strategy required to win battles, while others found that it was both unnecessarily slow and complicated. At the same time, the new skill tree was considered by some to have been vastly "dumbed down" from the skill system in the first game. Many of the skills are left unexplained as well, often leaving many players confused about their use. Episode II sold below expectations. In many areas, the series seemed to have lost a portion of its core audience because of the reasons explained in the previous section. Nevertheless, Episode III was brought into production in 2005. Several months after the game's North American release, it was revealed that series creator and executive producer Tetsuya Takahashi and his wife, head writer Soraya Saga, left the series. Takahashi later returned to write Xenosaga I&II for the Nintendo DS, though Soraya Saga had apparently not returned to work with Monolith until after Episode III was in production. It was also revealed that Saga's original script had been altered by the new team of writers and editors that Monolith Soft had hired on for Episode II's production. It was also revealed that several scenes were cut from Episode II. Shortly after the North American release of Episode II, Monolith Soft announced that the main Xenosaga series would end at Episode III. External links * English site (archived) * Japanese site * Cutscenes * Movie version Category:Series installments